Teenyreef's IM40 Not-So-Teeny Tank - August FTS

[aviator300]

Hello teeny my friend. I have a question for you about NOPOX from Red Sea.

 

I know you have used it and it has helped keep the Nitrates below 1.0 in my Fusion 20 which has helped very much but would it do any good (or harm) to use it in my 7 gal tank which has no skimmer. I fight hard to keep Nitrates low in this tank also but even with doing a weekly 50% water change and using Chemi pure along with Seachems De-Nitrate, I cant keep Nitrates below 5.0

 

I'm trying to stay around 1.0 to promote less growth but more coloration. Anybody have any ideas.

 

I wonder if changing the floss daily would make any difference. As is, I change it 2x week?

[teenyreef]

Hello teeny my friend. I have a question for you about NOPOX from Red Sea.

 

I know you have used it and it has helped keep the Nitrates below 1.0 in my Fusion 20 which has helped very much but would it do any good (or harm) to use it in my 7 gal tank which has no skimmer. I fight hard to keep Nitrates low in this tank also but even with doing a weekly 50% water change and using Chemi pure along with Seachems De-Nitrate, I cant keep Nitrates below 5.0

 

I'm trying to stay around 1.0 to promote less growth but more coloration. Anybody have any ideas.

 

I wonder if changing the floss daily would make any difference. As is, I change it 2x week?

Unfortunately, using NoPox without a skimmer is not recommended, it's a critical part of the process for carbon dosing

 

I can't remember how your 7g tank is set up - is it an AIO? Do you clean the back chambers regularly?

[jedimasterben]

A skimmer is mandatory for carbon dosing unless you're ok with near 100% water changes daily or twice daily to keep dissolved oxygen from plummeting.

[teenyreef]

A skimmer is mandatory for carbon dosing unless you're ok with near 100% water changes daily or twice daily to keep dissolved oxygen from plummeting.

Thanks, Ben!

 

Like, I said, "critical"

[Reef Queso]

I bought one of those coralife skimmers with the bubbler for my 15g and in a month my nitrates fell from 40 to 0.

[YaBoyLaj]

and people say skimmers aren't necessary... ik they aren't mandatory for a tank, but i've always thought they are pretty essential to any reef Tank looks great man!

[teenyreef]

I bought one of those coralife skimmers with the bubbler for my 15g and in a month my nitrates fell from 40 to 0.

It can make a huge difference in a tank that has more bioload than just the rocks can handle.

and people say skimmers aren't necessary... ik they aren't mandatory for a tank, but i've always thought they are pretty essential to any reef Tank looks great man!

Thanks! I find that skimmers can add a lot more room for errors, too.

[YaBoyLaj]

It can make a huge difference in a tank that has more bioload than just the rocks can handle.

Thanks! I find that skimmers can add a lot more room for errors, too.

Very very true, life savers

[teenyreef]

I took a few top down shots tonight just to document progress.

 

Stupid diatoms

 

2016-11-14 IM40 Top Down by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Here's a close up of the zoa garden - I don't think I've taken an updated shot of the whole garden in a while.

 

Stupid diatoms

 

IM40 Zoa Garden by TeenyReef, on Flickr

Stupid diatoms

[kimberbee]

Nice pics, but how do you feel about the diatoms?

[vlangel]

Except for the 'stupid diatoms' the tank and especially the zoas look great!

You sure get the beautiful colors.

[FlowerMama]

That zoa garden is getting bigger!!!

[Biggen]

Hopeing my tank will be as half as good as yours one day.

 

Great job!

[holy carp]

Man, even those stupid diatoms have a nice bronze hue! My diatoms always look poop brown

 

Those speckled zoas with the orange skirts near the bottom look awesome.

[teenyreef]

Nice pics, but how do you feel about the diatoms?

Thanks for asking! I probably should be more open about my feelings.

 

I think they're stupid.

 

Man, even those stupid diatoms have a nice bronze hue! My diatoms always look poop brown

 

Those speckled zoas with the orange skirts near the bottom look awesome.

the stupid diatoms look poop brown to me.

 

I love those zoas - I got them from Reefgen at a local reef show. I can't remember what Laura said they were called though

Except for the 'stupid diatoms' the tank and especially the zoas look great!

You sure get the beautiful colors.

Thanks, Dawn. The diatoms should go away eventually, anyway. I thought they were just about gone but then I put some new frag rocks in a couple weeks ago and they bounced right back. Just need to wait for the new rocks to stop leaching phosphates, I guess.

That zoa garden is getting bigger!!!

I keep adding more frags from the frag tank because they do so much better in this tank. Sooner or later I'm going to have to thin the herd, though.

[FlowerMama]

Thanks for asking! I probably should be more open about my feelings.

 

I think they're stupid.

 

the stupid diatoms look poop brown to me.

 

I love those zoas - I got them from Reefgen at a local reef show. I can't remember what Laura said they were called though

Thanks, Dawn. The diatoms should go away eventually, anyway. I thought they were just about gone but then I put some new frag rocks in a couple weeks ago and they bounced right back. Just need to wait for the new rocks to stop leaching phosphates, I guess.

I keep adding more frags from the frag tank because they do so much better in this tank. Sooner or later I'm going to have to thin the herd, though.

 

Or put them closer together & let them mesh into their own carpet and varieties.

[teenyreef]

Hopeing my tank will be as half as good as yours one day.

 

Great job!

Thank you! I just caught up on your new build thread - great job! That super fresh live rock will give you a huge jump on getting the tank mature.

 

Or put them closer together & let them mesh into their own carpet and varieties.

Yep, that's my goal. The frag rocks they are on are actually touching under the sand, so eventually it should pretty much turn into a zoa carpet. But the different kinds of zoas grow at different rates so I want to allow room for the slow growers to spread without getting taken over by the fast growers. I expect I'll have to frag off some of the fast growers sooner or later.

[teenyreef]

I've realized I tend to post pictures only of the corals that are doing well, or at least are improving. So in honor of the upcoming holiday season, this post is my "island of misfit toys" coral update post

 

The icefire echinata doesn't look great, but it still has skin and isn't dead, so every day that goes by is a win in my book

 

20161114-untitled-003-Edit.jpg by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Same thing for the little booger-sized blue acro.

 

Blue Acro by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

The bird of paradise Slowtwitch sent is actually doing great, but I accidentally broke it off of it's base with the turkey baster last month. But the base is still growing and the broken piece is doing fine too, it's starting to encrust already

 

Bird of Paradise by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

This smooth skinned acro is growing fine but was already brown when I moved it from the 10g tank. So now I'm just waiting for it to color back up. At one point it was a lovely pink-orange, with yellow and green highlights on the encrusting base. It may need more light than it's getting right now, but I'm trying to just go slow and give it time to adjust.

 

20161110-untitled-006-Edit.jpg by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

This elkhorn stag was also moved to save it from the 10g sps-killing gha infested tank. It was a frag of a frag that I was keeping in the frag tank, and it's really starting to bounce back. Apparently it's virtually unkillable

 

20161109-untitled-006-Edit.jpg by TeenyReef, on Flickr

[jstuver]

How do you like the IM probe holder? i need to order something for my new tank seems it's an all in one tank and I will no longer have a sump.

[teenyreef]

How do you like the IM probe holder? i need to order something for my new tank seems it's an all in one tank and I will no longer have a sump.

I was excited about the idea, but it doesn't let you tighten up the individual channels. So the biggest probe is held snugly but the rest are loose. And the tube holders are just friction fit so they pop out.

 

I posted some pictures of it, and of the vertex holders I'm using now... Somewhere in the first ten or twenty pages, I think. I'll find it tomorrow and post a link.

[jstuver]

I was excited about the idea, but it doesn't let you tighten up the individual channels. So the biggest probe is held snugly but the rest are loose. And the tube holders are just friction fit so they pop out.

 

I posted some pictures of it, and of the vertex holders I'm using now... Somewhere in the first ten or twenty pages, I think. I'll find it tomorrow and post a link.

 

So do you like the vertex one then?

[teenyreef]

 

So do you like the vertex one then?

I do but it's not perfect. Only three tubes capacity, and the probe holder has a larger size option I didn't know about, so my temperature probe didn't fit. And they aren't cheap at all. But they're really easy to mount, the magnets hold them in place well, and they look good.

[teenyreef]

Whew, it's been a busy week! I had to go on travel for a few days during the second half of the week, so I just fed the tanks heavily before I left, and fed them again when I got back Friday night.

 

The diatoms were heavy on the sand and glass after not being basted off for three days, but the corals and fish were all fine.

[teenyreef]

So this happened this week on Aquaticlog.com:

 

EcoTech Vortoberfest Contest

The contest is now over.

Winner is user TeenyReef and his 10 gallon aquarium:

 

There's a free MP10 coming my way!

[Justind823]

So this happened this week on Aquaticlog.com:

 

EcoTech Vortoberfest Contest

The contest is now over.

Winner is user TeenyReef and his 10 gallon aquarium:

 

There's a free MP10 coming my way!

 

Hard work paying off!